


Eclipse - A Sailor Moon Retelling

by RailnElias



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:34:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28243233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RailnElias/pseuds/RailnElias
Summary: What is Fate? Is it a result of our own actions, or do we dance like the celestial bodies drawn and propelled by forces beyond our understanding and control?
Relationships: Chiba Mamoru/Tsukino Usagi
Kudos: 3





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my 'fic, I hope you enjoy it. You should find it familiar enough, primarily drawn from the 90's anime and movies, but with some nods to the other versions. You should also find it to be remarkably different, as I flesh out the plot and the characters with my own vision. This is to be an educational undertaking for me, as I practice writing in a serialized, narrative format so feedback is highly encouraged.

## Book 1: Jaedite

### Prologue

#### The Crash

August third, ten years ago:

Mamoru sat in the back seat of his parents' blue station wagon, his forehead against the window glass. Numbly, he watched the blurry texture of the passing concrete while his parents yelled at each other in the front seats. He wondered if they even remembered that he was in the car with them. 

They argued all the time now. Ever since they moved to Tokyo.

Before, they lived with Grandpa in a small town in the mountains. He was the only grandparent Mamoru knew. Grandmother died before he was born, and Father was an orphan. But earlier that spring, Grandpa died and everything started to change. Mamoru didn't know what an estate was or why it meant they had to sell everything and move, but he was beginning to think that it meant everything was going to be bad forever.

Father went to the city before them to get a new job. There was a long, confusing time where Mother cried a lot and they had to pick out the stuff they got to keep. In the end it all fit into the car, but Mamoru had to ride in the front seat. 

Only two weeks ago, Mamoru and Mother arrived in the city. Mamoru was excited at first. It was so huge and so different from the country. Instead of a house, they got to live in an apartment. It was like a hundred houses all stuck together. They got to ride an elevator to go in and out and the balcony was like a porch way up in the air. Mother didn't like the apartment though. She and Father fought about it half the night when they got there. It was the first time Mamoru heard them yell at each other.

The very next day, Mother started looking for a job. She said, once school started, she would go to work like father. Mamoru wasn't sure what all that meant, except that she and Father would fight about it a lot so it couldn't be a good thing. It seemed to Mamoru that every new thing that happened was bad somehow. It made him afraid to go to school.

Just last night, Father came home and told him that they would go out to dinner for his birthday. When asked what they should eat, Mamoru answered with his favorite food, spaghetti. But Mother seemed worried about it. She kept asking if they could afford it. She was still asking that now, but at the top of her lungs while father yelled back that she should let him make that decision.

Then Mother screamed. 

Father screamed. 

The car's tires screamed and a loud horn blared. 

Mamoru's head hit the glass and everything went black.

#### Fiore

He woke in a strange place. 

He was confused and in pain and there were strange sounds all around. He couldn't sit up. His left arm was numb and he couldn't move it.

He lifted his head and looked around. He couldn't remember anything. Not even his own name. He didn't know where he was, and he didn't know where he was supposed to be. Thinking hurt. Holding his head up was hurting him more so he laid it back down. Alone, but too afraid to call out, he closed his eyes and cried.

A small voice asked, "Why are you crying?"

Timidly, he opened his eyes and looked to see a boy his age with long blonde hair standing in the doorway. He looked sickly pale, and had a lollipop in his hand.

He answered, "I'm scared."

The pale boy asked, "Are you all by yourself?"

He tried not to cry again and answered, "Yes…"

The boy came over and extended the lolli. "I'll be your friend." He said gently. "My name is Fiore." 

He took the proffered candy with his good hand and replied, "I don't know my name."

Fiore said, "Okay. I'll call you Momo. Like Momo Taro!" Fiore had a sweet smile to match his lavender eyes. 

"Thank you." Momo said with a little smile of his own, not wanting to admit he didn't know who Fiore was talking about. Then he asked, "Where are we?"

Fiore climbed up onto the chair beside the bed. "In the hospital." He answered, kicking his legs. Momo noticed that they were spotted with bruises. 

"Are you sick?" Momo asked of Fiore.

Fiore nodded. "All the time. No one knows why. They're always taking my blood. Then they give me a sucker."

"I'm sorry." Momo murmured and tried to hand the candy back. Fiore refused to take it with a shake of his head. 

"Hm-mm. You can keep it," He said with a grin, "I have something better."  
"What?" Momo asked, all confused.

Fiore took Momo's hand in his own. "I have a friend."

#### The Rose

Momo was in the hospital for more than a week. 

The doctors and nurses who cared for him called him Mamoru. They said that he had broken bones and a concussion. They also told him that he and his parents were in an accident and this is how he got hurt.

Another man came to see him who said he was a counselor, not a doctor. He said Momo's parents died and he asked him if that made him sad. He told the man, "I am sad they died," but he didn't know how to say it was like telling him two strangers had died. He believed that the counselor was telling the truth, but he didn't know the people that the man was talking about.

The only good thing about that time was Fiore. He came to see Momo every day. Momo couldn't get up to play, but Fiore told him the best stories. He made up fantastic tales about far away worlds filled with talking animals and dancing daisies. 

By the ninth day that Momo was in the hospital, he was able to sit up and play games with Fiore. All they had were checkers and chess, but when the games got boring, Fiore made up stories about the chess pieces to make Momo laugh.

"I like your eyes." Fiore told Momo at random.

Momo stopped giggling and became shy. "Why?" he asked.

Fiore smiled his sweet smile and said, "They're blue, like the sky here. I like it."

Momo's cheeks turned pink and he said, "Thank you." Not knowing what else to say, he went with, "Is blue your favorite color? It is mine."

Fiore giggled lightly and said, "It is now."

Later that day, the counselor came back. He told Momo that it would be time to go home soon.  
Momo could not hide his horror at the announcement. "Why?" was all he said. 

The counselor was flustered. "What do you mean, why? You don't want to stay here forever, do you?"

Momo looked away. "My friend is here," He said.

The counselor laughed. "Well, your friend can come see you in your new home."

Still looking away, Momo started to cry.

"What is the matter, Mamoru?" the counselor asked, sitting on the chair next to the bed.

"My name is MOMO!" he yelled back. Then he flopped down and closed his eyes. "Leave me alone," he sobbed.

The counselor quietly left the room.

Outside the room, a man and a little girl were passing by. The little girl peeked into the room and asked the counselor, "Why is he crying?"

The counselor replied, "Because he is sad."

Her father tugged on her hand and said, "Come now, Usagi…"

The little girl hesitated, then snatched a bright red rose from the bouquet her father was holding. She ran into the room and hopped right up into the chair. "Here!" she said, offering the flower. "Don't be sad, okay!"

Momo opened his eyes and looked at the little girl. He couldn't help but smile. He took the flower and said, "Thank you."

She just giggled and hopped out of the chair, running back to her father. "Okay, Bye-bye!" She called, waving, as her father led her away.

Momo could hear her father telling her, "That was very nice of you, Usagi…"

The counselor quietly closed the door.

#### Departure

By evening on that same day, Fiore still had not come to see Momo. 

Worried, Momo asked the nurse who brought him dinner about Fiore.

"Fiore?" she said, "I don't think I know him," she replied. "But I'm sure he'll come to see you as soon as he can." She followed with a smile.

Momo smiled back, but continued to worry. 

As he slowly ate his dinner, the door opened and Fiore came in. He looked very tired.

"Fiore!" Momo cheered, "I'm so glad to see you!"

Fiore smiled at his friend, but it was a sad smile. "I have to go," he said.

Fear struck Momo's heart. "Go? Go where?"

"Home," said Fiore. "I can't get better until I do."

Momo didn't know what to say to that. He wanted his friend to get better, but he didn't want him to go away. He squeezed his eyes shut while his hands made fists in his lap.

_I have to go…_

Fiore's soft hands touched his. He opened his eyes and looked into those of his treasured friend who said, "Don't be sad," with such a gentle smile. "Look, I have a present for you."

"Another sucker?" Momo guessed.

Fiore giggled, "Yep! How'd you know?" He said as he handed over the glossy red candy.

Momo smiled. He couldn't help it, but his lips and hands trembled. He didn't have anything to give back. His eyes went to the rose from earlier.

_Don't be sad…_

Momo grabbed the rose from the bedside table and thrust it at Fiore. "Here!" It was all he could manage to get out without sobbing. He didn't know what else to say anyway.

Fiore's sweet smile bloomed ever wider. "What a pretty flower! Thank you, Momo. One day, when I come back, I'll bring you a whole bunch of flowers. I promise." 

_Goodbye._


	2. Chapter 2

### Chapter 1

#### His Dream

Mamoru’s dream was always the same.

The castle floated in the darkness above the stars. Fluted columns and flying arches gleamed in the pale light like porcelain. Luminescent, it shone like the moon.

He was flying toward it, but not on his own wings. He was being pulled, drawn there by an unseen force. His anticipation for arriving was mixed. Something wonderful awaited him, but he was afraid.

Something terrible was going to happen.

He touched down gently on the alabaster walkway. He looked both ways, left and right, but saw no one. He began to walk toward the palace. His feet made hollow echoing sounds on the smooth stone.

Tap tap tap. The walkway seemed to go on forever.

He looked to the entrance before him. It seemed so far away, but he realized he could make out a figure there. She was as pale and gleaming as the place itself. 

_The Princess of the Moon._

He ran to her and took her outstretched hand in his. He kissed her palm and folded her fingers over. Her petal-soft skin smelled like roses.

Suddenly pain shot through his body and the princess let out a scream. She vanished in a splash of crimson, crying out as she did, "The Silver Crystal! Find the Silver Crystal!"

#### First Encounter 

Mamoru wasn’t quite aware of his surroundings as he hustled down the sidewalk, face buried in a book on applied physics.

He’d been studying the book obsessively for the past week, particularly the chapter on Pyroelectric Fusion. His current theory on the nature of the ‘Silver Crystal’ in his dream was that it might be a form of crystallic energy. Perhaps his subconscious was driving him on to some scientific breakthrough.

He had read the chapter front and back and front again, but he read it once more as he was on his way to Crown Arcade to pick up his friend Motoki for dinner.

He was stubbornly ignoring the fact that it is unwise to walk anywhere while reading, let alone on a crowded downtown street at four o’clock in the afternoon. He had already ran into an elderly couple, and nearly bowled over some gradeschoolers. It was only a matter of time until he ran into someone his own size. 

“...scientists used a pyroelectric crystal, heated from negative thirty-four to seven degrees Celsius, along with a tungsten needle...” 

Bump.

“Ow! Hey, what gives?!”

“Sorry.” Mamoru mumbled, unphased, and continued to walk. 

“You better be—Hey! Come back here and make a real apology!”

Mamoru did not respond, if he heard her at all.

That’s when something struck him on the back of the head.

\---

“Uuuugh, this is the worst day of my life…” Usagi moaned, to no one in particular, as she plodded along the sidewalk.

Okay, so it wasn’t the worst day, but it was pretty bad. She had left late for school and tripped over a stray cat while running to catch up. She had painful scrapes on her knees from that. Once she got to school, her first period teacher made her stand in the hall as punishment for being so late. She missed breakfast, forgot her lunch, and was going to be late for dinner because she had to stay for detention. In fact, she might be denied dinner completely when her mother got a look at that week’s English test.

“Miss Haruna is so mean…” Usagi whined, as she unfolded the paper and looked again at all of the red marks. “I know this score is bad but, did she have to write it like that?” she continued to complain. The top of the test was marked with a large red ‘30%’, which was circled three times and accompanied by a frowny-face. Usagi gave a defeated sigh. “Mom is going to kill me.” 

With a feral growl of frustration, Usagi wadded the paper into a tight ball. She stood there, on the busy sidewalk, and spied a green trash receptacle on the corner. She seriously considered throwing the test away and just telling her mom that she lost it. It wouldn’t be a total lie…

That’s when some guy plowed into her with his elbow. “Ow!” She exclaimed in surprise. He was so tall, he hit her in the shoulder. Any taller, and she would have had a black eye! “Hey, What gives?!”

The guy mumbled something that sounded like “Sorry…”

“You better be,” she started to say, but he just kept walking and didn’t even look back. Unbelievable!

“Hey! Come back here and make a real apology!” She yelled and, on an impulse, threw the paper she had in her hand at his head. She scored a direct hit.

That stopped him in his tracks.

He turned around and fixed his ice-blue eyes on her. His glare was so cold, she got chills. He looked down at the paper on the ground and stooped to pick it up. His glance went between her and the trashcan and he said, “You missed.”

Usagi couldn’t respond right away. His frosty gaze held her frozen in place for a moment, but even after that, she stood gaping. It wasn’t as though he was spectacularly handsome, in fact his short black hair parted over his right temple in a quite humorous fashion. There was something familiar in those eyes, though. It was like she knew him from somewhere, and the feeling called to her from deep within. 

\---

Mamoru couldn’t stop staring at the girl before him. She was not particularly beautiful. In fact, she was short and a bit on the heavy side. She had plain, straight yellow hair pulled up into a bun that came short of looking mature and went for adorable instead. There was something about her warm blue eyes, however, that made him pause. He stared into them, and she stared back at him, for way too long. So long, it became awkward. 

To escape, he forced his gaze down, to the paper he had in his hand. “What is this?” He blurted absently, curiosity causing him to un-wad it. He couldn’t help but notice her soft pink cheeks darkening to the color of a ripe peach as he did.

“H—Hey, don’t look at that!” She exclaimed, but too late. He had already seen the butchered English and angry red slashes that made up the gory massacre of the test. 

He could see from the header on the page that she attended Juban High School and his heart sank a little. He couldn’t help but worry about anyone who wasn’t able to pass what a quick glance told him was a rather easy test. He said, “Thirty percent? You need to study harder, bun-head.” 

Her eyes went wide and her face flushed fully. In hindsight, it was incredibly rude to say it that way, but sometimes words just fell out of his mouth unfiltered. He felt bad, but before he could attempt to retract it, she snatched the paper out of his hand screaming, “Jerk!” Her pink lips were trembling and her eyes glittered with tears as she ran away, down the sidewalk. 

#### The Game

Usagi ran all the way to the corner of 31st and the parkway. The way home was to turn right on 31st and head into the residential district. But on the corner was Crown Arcade, a place where Usagi often lost time on her way home. Bruised as her ego was, she didn’t even try to resist the urge to go inside and hide for a while. 

First, she made her way to the restroom, all the way in the back. She knocked to make sure no one was in there, then went in and locked the door. She splashed cold water from the tap onto her eyes, trying to wash away some of the redness, then patted her face dry on a paper towel. Next, she pulled the jeweled pin out of her bun and ran her fingers through her hair a few times before twisting it back up and pinning it in place. Finally, she refreshed her lip gloss.

Feeling much better about herself, she opened her school bag and checked her wallet. It was a Thursday night, and her allowance was already stretched thin, but she had enough to play at least once. 

Usagi left the restroom and looked over the forest of arcade machines. She wasn’t looking for any game in particular, she’d played them all at some point, but an unfamiliar tune caught her ear. She cast her gaze around, and saw a machine she didn’t recognize in the darkest back corner of the room.

In a room full of arcade machines that spanned over four decades of technology, it was totally unremarkable. It was a classic upright cabinet with a joystick and buttons for one player. The banner over the screen read, ‘Crime Fighter Sailor V!’ in gold and pink letters. The side of the cabinet bore a large chibi caricature of a girl in a mocked sailor’s uniform with long blonde hair and a red mask over her eyes.

“I didn’t know they made a Sailor V game…” she murmured aloud, as she took a slow step toward it. Sailor V was a legendary teenage crime fighter in Tokyo. Like an urban Yeti, her existence was heatedly debated among Usagi’s peers. Sailor V was one of Usagi’s personal heroes. 

“Cool!” she cheered and bounced over to the machine.

The intro animation was just replaying as she approached. She read aloud to herself as it scrolled by, “‘You are the Legendary Crime Fighter, SAILOR V! Advance through the tough streets, defeat evil, and claim the Great Prize in the END!’ Sweet! It only costs a quarter!”

Usagi inserted a coin and pressed the ‘Start P1’ button. An introduction flashed on the screen, labeling the buttons on the console as shoot, kick, jump and special. A few combos followed. “Yeah, yeah, I get it!” Usagi urged, “Let’s get started already!” 

The scene changed and Sailor V’s tiny sprite appeared on the screen, already confronted with several hulking badguys. “Woah! Shoot, shoot, shoot!” Usagi cried, mashing buttons. A flat tune from the game heralded Sailor V’s defeat. 

“Geez! How high is the difficulty set on this thing?!” Usagi yelled indignantly, pounding the console with the heel of her hand. She was inclined to walk away, but something in her refused to give up so easily. “Alright then...” She inserted another quarter and hit start.

This time, she managed to beat one of the four villains before she was KO-ed and the game over screen had a tip on it: ‘Use combos to charge up your special’.

Usagi was already fighting back tears of frustration, which was against the point of coming in. She sniffled and turned away. There was a moment of silence from the game and then she could swear she heard a tiny voice saying, “Don’t give up!”

She turned to look, but the game was back to playing its cheerful tune, intro screen scrolling by. She looked down at the one quarter left in her hand. “Okay…”

Start. Shoot. Shoot. Jump to avoid thrown daggers. Kick-kick-kick-‘Sailor V KICK!’

The combo took down three of the badguys at once and Sailor V’s sprite changed. She had a golden glowing aura and a crescent on her forehead. Usagi’s gamer instincts told her it was time to use her special so she pressed the button. “Moon Crescent Beam!” Sailor V cried and a golden beam wider than the sprite was tall annihilated the remaining badguy. Sailor V’s sprite jumped up and down with joy as the words ‘Level 1 Clear!’ appeared on the screen.

“Woo-hoo!” Usagi cheered as she jumped up and down. “Yes! Take take that, game!”

There was a clatter from the cabinet as a heavy metal coin tumbled into a bin on the front, below the coin slot. Usagi chirruped, “Yay, tokens!” as she retrieved it.

A tall youth with feathery blonde hair approached. “Hey, Usagi!” he greeted her. “I didn’t see you come in.”

“Look Motoki! I beat Level One!” Usagi cheered, bouncing in place. 

“Nice!” He replied, “That game’s really tough, no one has a high score on it yet. Good job, Usagi! Go for Level Two!” Motoki was always encouraging her to play further. It was his job, as the ‘game warden’, but Usagi liked to think it was also because he had a crush on her. 

The game was also urging her to ‘Insert coin to continue!’ but she shook her head. “I’m all out of money.” she said, still smiling. Then her smile vanished. 

“What are you doing here?!” she shouted at the other young man who had come up behind Motoki. It was the same guy who had run into her on the sidewalk.

“Oh? Do you two know each other?” Motoki asked, puzzled.

Usagi was quick to respond with, “Yeah! This creep tried to plow me down, then made fun of me in front of everyone on the street!” She was tearing up all over again.

Motoki turned to the young man in question and said, “Mamoru!”

Mamoru responded with ire, “You believe that?!”

Motoki answered awkwardly, “Well, you are sort of in a mood…” 

Mamoru snorted angrily. “Whatever, buy your own dinner…” he muttered, and turned to walk away.

#### Pizza

Mamoru did not want to have anything more to do with that girl. She was exactly the type of girl he couldn’t stand; bouncy and giggly on the surface, but just to cover up how selfish and manipulative she was underneath. The kind of girl who flirted to get her way and cried when it didn’t work.

Frankly, the fact that Motoki was taking her side stung a little. Mamoru had no idea that his friend even knew this girl, let alone that he was into her. At least, that was the assumption that Mamoru was making.

Mamoru was already heading out the front door of the arcade when Motoki caught up with him. “Hey! Mamoru, I’m talking to you, stop!” He stopped walking and turned to face his friend.

“Geez!” Motoki exclaimed. “Give me a minute, will you? Why are you in such a bad mood, anyway?” he was still shrugging on his jacket and juggling his schoolbag.

Mamoru sighed impatiently. “Sorry,” he replied, “I haven’t been sleeping well.”

Motoki nodded. “Ah. Bad dreams again?”

Mamoru nodded in turn. “Yeah.” he responded. He had told Motoki before that he had frequent nightmares, but that was all. He never told his friend that he had the exact same nightmare every night, or that it started when his childhood friend died. Motoki was a good friend, but even he wouldn’t understand. 

For a change of subject, Mamoru asked, “Where do you want to go to eat? It’s your turn to pick.” knowing that Motoki would pick pizza. It was always pizza.

“Oh! There’s this new place, Pick-a-Pie, where you get to build your own personal pizza!” Motoki exclaimed. 

Mamoru smirked. “Sounds good.” He said.

Mamoru and Motoki enjoyed a lot of freedom even for high school students. Both were pretty much living on their own. Motoki’s parents lived out in the country and spent nearly all their money sending their only son to a prestigious prep-school in the city. Motoki worked at the arcade every night to make ends meet.

Mamoru’s only family was Mr. Sato, the man who’d taken him in when his parents died. Mr. Sato was an affluent man, and he made sure that Mamoru had everything he needed, including his own apartment and a generous allowance. However, these came tied with the strings of high expectations, and overbearing standards. 

They walked in silence for a while and Mamoru’s mind wandered. As it often did, it went to the dream and chewed it like an old bone. Find the Silver Crystal? What did it mean? He had been trying to figure it out since the first time he had the dream, and never came up with any clear answer. He often wondered if it was psychological trauma from the part of his childhood that had been erased by amnesia. 

“Mamoru?” Motoki’s voice interrupted his thoughts. 

“Hmm?” He responded with divided attention. 

“Um, about this weekend…” 

“…Yes?” Grudgingly, Mamoru was drawn a bit more into the moment.

“Well, I can’t make it to our study group. I have something else I need to do.” Though he had a habit of making last-minute plans, Motoki was not usually so awkward about it.

“Is it a girl?” Mamoru guessed. Correctly, judging by Motoki’s face. 

“Yeah.” His friend responded shyly. 

“The one from the arcade?” Mamoru guessed again, slightly irritated. 

“What?! No, Usagi’s just a kid. She’s from our class. Her name’s Reika.” He said her name with a dreamy sigh that made Mamoru want to gag a little. At least it wasn’t the bun-headed girl, though he thought calling her a kid was a little exaggerated. She couldn’t be much younger than Motoki himself. 

“Hmm…” Mamoru said thoughtfully, “Reika. Five-eight. Redhead. Captain of the Polo Club. Fourth in class, actually. Are you going to study with her instead?” Mamoru jibed. 

“It’s creepy how you do that.” Motoki responded. “And, no. We’re going to the movies.” 

Mamoru rolled his eyes. His jokes were often lost on others. “The scary one that just came out?” he asked expectantly.

“The one with the serial killer and the girl who can’t die? Yeah! Did you see it?” Motoki asked.

Mamoru had, and was disappointed, but he was difficult to scare. “You’ll like it.” He answered. “The good guys win and all that.”

“Hey! No spoilers!” Motoki exclaimed. 

By that time, they had reached Pick-a-Pie.

#### Heading Home

Usagi marched down the street with a pout on her face.

“Hmph. I was just about to beg Motoki for some spare quarters when that Jerk showed up and dragged him away! What a… a… Jerk!” Usagi often spoke her thoughts aloud, even when no one else was around.

Angrily, she kicked an empty coffee can that was laying on the sidewalk. It crashed into the side of a recycling receptacle with a clash of noise. Usagi looked around to see if anyone was paying attention. There was an elderly woman staring at her from a second-floor balcony. She quickly scurried over and picked up the can, tossed it into the receptacle, then moved on.

“How could a sweet guy like Motoki be friends with someone like that? It must be out of sympathy. Yeah… A guy like that couldn’t have too many friends. Motoki must be acting kind toward him out of sympathy.” She giggled, “That’s my Motoki!”

By that time, she had reached her home neighborhood. It was well after five o’clock. In fact, it was nearly six. She hadn’t been able to play any more games, being out of cash, but she had hung out in the arcade for a while anyway. Afterward, she did some window shopping before finally taking the turn down 31st. 

At least now she could tell her mother honestly that she lost her test. It must have slipped from her hand at some point as she ran down the parkway, crying. Usagi just hoped her mom wouldn’t ask too many questions about it.

At last, she stood on her own front step. For some reason, she hesitated before reaching for the door. Suddenly, a loud crash followed by a dog barking and a cat’s yowl caused her to jump and look around. She jumped again and screamed a little when she turned back and there was her mother. 

Ikuko stood, arms crossed, blocking entry into the house. “Usagi.” She said ominously, “You are late.”

Usagi forced a smile. “Oh? How late? I forgot my watch. Hahaha…” Her laugh was a bit too shaky and loud.

Her mother’s frown only deepened. “I got a call from Miss Haruna.” She said.

Usagi’s heart sank. “What? Why would she call you?” she asked, honestly confused.

Ikuko’s temper snapped, “Because she is worried about you, Usagi! She told me that you failed another test, with your lowest score yet! Do you have any idea what this is doing to your student career? To your family? What do you think is going to happen when you flunk out of high school?!” she shouted. 

Usagi’s scabbed knees trembled along with her lips. Tears flowed freely down her cheeks. “I’m sorry…” she whined, wrapping her arms around herself. “Please, just let me in…” she felt like the whole world was watching this.

“You can come in, Usagi,” her mother replied, “and go straight to your room.”

“What about dinner?” Usagi couldn’t help but ask, even though she was sure she knew the answer. 

“You can eat when you have finished your homework.” Ikuko said firmly, which did nothing to ebb the tide of tears from Usagi.

She stepped aside then and Usagi ran past her, straight up the stairs. She didn’t even stop to take her shoes off. 

Ikuko sighed heavily and said aloud, “Usagi, what am I to do with you?”

#### Her Nightmare

Usagi threw herself down on her bed and flipped her starry comforter over her head. She curled onto her side, drawing her knees up and wrapping her arms around her heart-shaped pillow. Laying there, she sobbed to herself, “It’s so not-fair. I can’t help it, how am I supposed to do good in class if I’m so-yaaawn-sleepy all the time?” 

Usagi had a well-earned reputation for being lazy. It seemed as though, whenever she was not goofing off, she was nodding off. Especially in class. Most especially in English class. Usagi wished everyone would give her a break, but what she was not telling them was that she barely slept at night. 

From an early age, Usagi had terrifying nightmares. Dreams of running for her life, through fire and smoke, fleeing from fear and pain and despair. 

The nightmares had been especially troublesome in the past month. Nearly any time she fell asleep, day or night, the terror was right there. She was becoming more and more exhausted, but still couldn’t bring herself to tell anyone. What could they do about it anyway?

As Usagi laid there in her bed, shoes still on, she slipped quickly into sleep, homework and dinner forgotten for the moment.

Already, she was dreaming. The dream was familiar, she had it often. She was dressed in a resplendent white gown, pearls around her neck and in her impossibly long silver hair. She was dancing in a ballroom with her beloved prince.

That was where the nightmare stepped in. 

Her prince vanished and she was suddenly alone.

Outside she heard screams, coming closer. She could smell smoke.

Not knowing what else to do, she ran. 

She searched for him as she ran. The darkened corridors seemed to go on forever. Suddenly, she emerged into a bright light and was dazzled for a moment. When she recovered her sight, she saw him down the walkway. He was fighting off fiends with a holy sword. 

She ran to his side as he dispatched the last one. He took her hand and kissed it. They were going to run together, but suddenly a tall and menacing fiend appeared behind him. She tried to call out, but it was too late. The fiend drove its spear into his back.

He fell to the ground. There was so much blood, spreading all around. She screamed his name.

_Endymion!_

#### The Watcher

Later that night, long after the sun had set and shadows swallowed the eaves and alleys, a small black cat slunk out of the space between the house and the trashcans. She had been hiding there for hours, patiently waiting for the cover of dark. 

_Idiotic dog._ She silently muttered. _He made me give away my position._

She looked up at the house. It was a cute, two-story townhouse with white walls and a pink trim. At least, it looked pink in the pale light of night. It was a pretty nice house for downtown Tokyo. The family must be doing well.

 _Pink? Is this really the place?_ She wondered, but the strong pulsing of the tracker against her throat told her that the candidate was there.

 _It looks like the bedrooms are on the second floor,_ she thought. _I can get a view from that tree._

Nimbly, she climbed the tree and peeked into the nearest window. There was a boy in his early teens sleeping in a bed with cute cartoon animals on the covers. He had a plush doll that looked like one of them under his arm.

 _Cute,_ she thought, _but isn’t he a little old for that?_

She carefully walked along the limb to get a look in the other window. There was a pair of feet with girls shoes still on them poking out from under a star-spangled comforter. _That must be her. It’s difficult to believe that the same girl who failed that test passed the first stage of the simulator…_ She sighed with apprehension. _I just need to have faith. The way will become clear…_

#### His Nightmare

At Pick-a-Pie, Motoki had excitedly loaded his pizza with the maximum number of toppings. Each one after the initial two raised the price by one dollar, but Mamoru knew his friend wasn’t thinking about it that way. Besides, Motoki needed all the food he could get. 

Mamoru ordered his pizza with the standard two toppings, and only ate one slice. As he told Motoki, he wasn’t feeling well, and had no appetite. He had a bad headache coming on. After dinner, he convinced Motoki to take his leftover pizza. It wasn’t too difficult to do. He dropped Motoki off at the arcade, so he could work his shift, then headed home. 

On the way home, Mamoru’s headache only grew worse. By the time he arrived, his vision was blurry. The elevator ride was excruciating. 

He staggered into his apartment, dropped his keys into the bowl by the door, and kicked off his shoes. He knew he needed to study, but all he wanted to do was lay down and sleep. He decided he wasn’t going to get much out of studying, and headed for bed.

The dream started the same as every night. He was flying up, beyond the ceiling of the sky, to the castle on the moon. His princess was waiting. 

But that night was different. Something else was waiting as well.

He touched down on the alabaster walkway, but the silver light was tainted red. He looked quickly to the palace and saw that it was on fire. 

He ran toward the burning building, crying out for his princess.

_Serenity!_

Suddenly, angry people blocked his way. They wanted her to die, and they would kill him for trying to save her. He hesitated only a moment. He couldn’t let them hurt her. He was forced to fight them.

He drew his sword and killed them, one by one. It wasn’t difficult to do, but it felt wrong somehow. 

_What am I doing?_

She emerged from the burning palace. Her tattered white gown was stained with soot and blood.

_What is happening?_

He went to her, to take her into his arms, but white-hot pain shot through him. He fell to the ground, gasping for air. His blood pooled out beneath him. He could hear the princess screaming, but the sound was growing more distant.

His vision blackened. In the dark, he heard another voice. 

**Do you want to live?**

_Yes!_

**Then bring me the Silver Crystal!**

Mamoru jolted awake, gasping for air. He felt like he couldn’t catch his breath. His lungs were on fire.

He wasn’t completely sure he was awake. It was dark, and he couldn’t remember how he got home, or into bed. 

He reached for the bedside lamp and felt something slide off of his chest as he sat up. With shaking hands, he tuned on the light, and froze. All around him on the bed were hundreds of rose petals, the color of blood.


	3. Chapter 3

### Chapter 2

#### Lunchtime

Umino was a man on a mission.

It was lunchtime at Juban High School and the courtyard was crowded as always. Navigating the living obstacle course would take swift thinking and agile moves, but he was confident in his abilities. 

Nimbly, he danced around a moving gaggle of giggling girls. Like a ninja, he slithered between the shrubbery and the tree to avoid some mean meatheads looking to make a meal out of nerds like him. Quick as a squirrel, he skittered the final distance to his secret spot between the fountain and the corner of the school. 

Wheezing and a little sweaty, he took a hit from his inhaler and pushed his heavy glasses up his narrow nose. Perhaps if he wasn’t so slender, they would stay up, but Umino had outgrown caring. Just as how he had finally given up trying to grow out his wispy, dirt-colored hair. Being slight and odd looking was befitting an otaku like he. 

Umino allowed himself a winsome smile. From his hidden vantage, he could admire her all he wanted without threat or ridicule. How her wavy chestnut hair rippled and shone in the sunlight. How enticingly it bounced as she laughed. Oh her laugh. It was like sweet music to his ears. 

He let out a sigh and coughed, then huffed his inhaler again.

\---

“He’s staring again.” Usagi said flatly, interrupting Naru’s laughter. 

“Who? Umino?” Naru asked, looking around. 

“Don’t look!” Usagi hissed, “He’ll come over.”

“Oh!” Naru said, but she had already spotted him. She quickly averted her gaze.

“Does he think we can’t see him there?” Usagi asked rhetorically.

“So sad…” Naru murmured.

“More like creepy.” Usagi corrected.

“Speaking of creepy,” Naru redirected, “Want to go see that new slasher movie tomorrow? I’ve heard it’s really scary.”

Usagi sighed dramatically. “I can’t. I’m not allowed to leave the house except for school.”

Naru made a sympathetic face. “Grounded again?”

“Yeah.” Usagi replied forlornly. “I’m not even allowed to walk home. I have to wait for my dad to pick me up.”

“Wow Usagi, that’s extreme! For how long?!” Naru exclaimed. 

“Until my grades improve,” Usagi replied with a whine, “which might be forever!” she bawled. 

“Usagi, I’m sorry…” Naru said. “Hey, how about I come over tomorrow and study with you instead? That should be okay, right?”

“Yeah!” Usagi said, instantly cheered. “Thanks Naru, you’re such a great friend!”

Naru smiled and ate her lunch.

#### Naru Disappears

After school that day, Usagi and Naru parted ways at the front gate. Usagi stayed to wait for her father while Naru headed down the street toward home. Home was an apartment above her parents’ jewelry store, OSA-P. It was no humble merchant’s hovel either. It was one of a dozen luxury condos stacked above the shop, each sprawling over its own floor of the building and equipped with nearly every trendy luxury that could fit in. 

Naru had promised to help out in the shop that day. She did not usually work the floor, but her mother had been having trouble with her anxiety. Mayumi did tend to get a little antsy when her husband was out of town for a while. He had been on this most recent buying expedition for over a week now and Naru was missing him herself. 

As she neared the shop, Naru noticed a growing din of voices from its direction. She looked ahead and saw a crowd of women standing on the sidewalk looking in. Puzzled, Naru quickened her pace. As she did, she realized she could hear her mother’s voice over the murmur.

“Come on in, come on in! Don’t be shy! No one loves the indecisive!” She was yelling.

Utterly confused, Naru pushed her way into the shop. “Mom?” she said, hesitantly because the woman standing on the stool in the middle of the shop didn’t look quite like her mother. She looked more like Mayumi the meth addict; thin and pale and sweating a little. Her eyes were too wide and her teeth were showing too much.

Mayumi ignored Naru and yelled to the crowd, “Come on ladies! Show a little spirit! You’re looking at genuine Silver Crystals, guaranteed to bring love and fortune!” 

Several women were in the shop, crowding around the register. They were yelling at the poor cashier and each other. 

“I’ll take the Silver Crystal!”

“Hey! I got here first!”

“Wait your turn!”

“Are there any left?!”

“Mom!” Naru said, more forcefully. “What are you doing? This isn’t like you…” 

Mayumi finally looked down at Naru. “Mom? Oh, Naru right? Go in the back.” She said dismissively, then went back to shouting. “Come on, come on! They’re going fast! Get in here and grab your chance at happiness!”

“Mom! Stop it! What are you talking about?!” Some of the women who had come into the shop were staring at the two of them.

Mayumi looked down at Naru again and said in a frightening growl, “I said to go in the back.”

Naru was taken aback by her mother’s suddenly threatening demeanor. She was even certain that her eyes flashed red for a moment. Not knowing what was going on, but wanting to escape the scene, Naru went toward the back of the shop. She opened the door and looked into the darkened room. There was someone in there, but she couldn’t make them out. “Hello? Who are you?”

Someone grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her through the door.

#### Breakfast

Cooking was not one of Ikuko’s strengths. It was not as though she was incapable, so much as she needed practice. She never had much time for cooking before.

Until four months prior, she was a legal aid for a big firm in the city. They underwent a merger with a bigger firm and, just like that, her job was gone. 

At that time, she sat down with her husband to examine just how bad the situation was. As it turned out, the promotions and raises he had achieved during his career made it possible for her to stay at home. In fact, if she did the housework herself, they could save a bit of money. 

It sounded like a great idea at the time. She had big dreams of cooking hearty, healthy meals instead of ordering in. She had always wanted to learn to sew and she could actually have time to herself when she wanted. Four months of lackluster accomplishments and resounding disappointments later, she was starting to wonder how much longer she could do it.

She sighed in frustration as she scraped at he eggs that were stuck to the pan like glue. She had failed at frying them because of sticking, and so decided to just scramble them. Now the pan was coated in egg cement and things were starting to smell burnt.

\---

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the house, Usagi’s sleeping form twitched and shivered under her covers. 

_Endymion! Please, no!_

Pearls rained down and scattered across the marble floor. 

She feel to her knees in a pool of blood and screamed, but there was no sound. She screamed and screamed, but no one heard. 

After another night of wracking nightmares, Usagi could not put on her Chipper face. She couldn’t even do Pleasant. She crawled out of bed and went downstairs without bothering to dress or do her hair. She slunk up to the breakfast table and slid into her chair with the threatening posture of a feral animal. 

Her little brother was there, playing Pokemon GO on his phone. At fourteen, he was a little old to be playing Pokemon in his sister’s opinion. They often clashed about it… and most other things as well. He looked over at her and said in a conspiratorial tone, “Mom’s makin’ eggs, Usagi. Pay ya a dollar to eat mine.”

Usagi ignored him. She reached for the pitcher of orange juice that was set in the middle of the table to pour herself a glass. 

Shingo, put out at being ignored, said, “What’s the matter, ew-soggie? Up all night reading your romance manga?” Shingo must have thought his insulting nickname for her was the funniest thing he would ever say. He coined it when he was eleven, and he still trotted it out anytime he wanted to rile her. “Oh Hota,” he mocked in a falsetto voice, “take me in your arms and sparkle like you love me!”

“Shut up and play your dumb game, Shingo!” Usagi snapped. 

Ikuko emerged from the kitchen, spatula in one hand, egg-scorched pan in the other. “Both of you be quiet,” she ordered, “or you’ll miss breakfast.” With that, she proceeded to scrape and chisel the overcooked eggs out of the pan onto a pair of plates which already bore matching slices of toast.

She placed the plates in front of her children with a smile on the outside. Inwardly, she felt bad for them. Secretly, she planned on eating a doughnut when she went shopping later. 

Her son looked at the offering for a moment, then turned to her with a shining smile and said, “Hey, they’re not runny! Thanks mom!” He must have thought he was being supportive. Ikuko wanted to cry. She escaped into the kitchen for a moment to deposit the pan and compose herself, then went to her seat at the end of the table. 

Shingo shoveled the eggs onto the toast and dug in without hesitation. He said, “Hey mom, can I go play with my Pokemon in the park?”

Ikuko smiled at him over her coffee cup and asked, “Did you finish your homework?”

“Yeah.” her son responded quickly.

“Good,” she said, her smile widening because she knew he was lying. “Let me check it, and you can go.”

He looked down and said, “Oh, okay. I think I might have some I didn’t finish. I guess I’ll do it real quick.” 

“Okay.” She responded. “Go ahead and get your books when you’re finished eating.”

Usagi spoke up, “Mom? Naru was going to come over and study with me, is that okay?”

Ikuko looked doubtful. “Hmm… I don’t know, Usagi. You are grounded.”

“I know,” Usagi said, trying to filter some of the whine out of her voice. “But we’d be dong homework.” she plied.

Her mother sighed. “Okay, but you’ll bring your books and do it here at the table.”

“Okay…” Usagi agreed reluctantly.

But Naru never came.

#### Jaedite

Kim knelt on the cold white stone of the audience chamber, waiting for the appearance of Mistress Beryl. 

He had been waiting for some time already. It was the scheduled hour, wasn’t it? He wanted to check his watch, but the Mistress had forbidden him to bring such technology before her. She was weird like that.

He heard footsteps approaching, but not from the direction of the throne. Kim looked up to see the General walking his way. Lee Cantana was the leader of their cult. The Mistress called him Kunzite. Kim called him a variety of names, but not where he could be heard. 

Lee looked down at him and said with a smirk, “Jaedite, have you found the princess yet?”

Kim glared up at him as hard as he dared. “No. Have you?”

Lee’s smug expression did not falter. “I’m a lot closer than you think” he said. It was Kim’s belief that the man was only bluffing. Lee seemed to think that, because he was tall and wealthy and powerful, he was better than everyone else. It was true that he was the favored of the Mistress, but Kim knew that it was only a temporary position. Beryl was fickle, and her only loyalty was to Queen Metallia. If Kim could somehow get the Queen’s favor, he would surpass Lee. 

A deep, womanly voice rang out in the chamber. “Jaedite,” she said, “what news of your successes on the earth?” Beryl stood on the dais in a regal posture with her garnet hair and onyx gown flowing around her, but her beauty was marred by a frown of displeasure. The presumptuous question was more condescending than confident.

Kim was aware that he held little esteem. He was only seventeen and had just recently been awakened. He had yet to accomplish anything of note. His previous offerings of life energy to Queen Metallia had been meager. Peddling his dark crystals on the sidewalk had gained him poor results. However, his new scheme was raking in a wealth of energy and Beryl was sure to be impressed.

“Mistress Beryl,” he began with a salute, clasping his right hand over his heart, “I have come with an offering for our Queen.”

Beryl’s frown only darkened. Kim felt a stab of fear, then realized she was frowning at Lee who was not kneeling. Arrogant jackass. Kim couldn’t understand how he remained the favorite. 

Lee said, “I too have come with an offering, my Mistress.” Kim wanted to knock that cocky smirk off of his face. 

Beryl’s face softened, almost to a smile. “I will receive it later” she replied mysteriously. Then she turned her attention back to Kim. “Jaedite, your offering?”

Kim, still kneeling, lifted his hand and snapped his fingers. “Morga!” he commanded. The stone next to him softened to the texture of sand, and a creature emerged. Her form was lean and wizened, like a mummy without wrappings. Lee’s derisive snort was loudly audible in the echoing chamber. Kim gritted his teeth against a surge of rage. Morga was the only monster that would serve him with his weak powers, but it wouldn’t be that way for much longer. 

Morga knelt next to Kim, as she emerged fully from the floor, burdened with a brightly glowing orb the size of a bowling ball. Kim couldn’t help a smirk of his own. His previous offerings had been like dimly lit golf balls. He cast a glance at Lee to mark his reaction. The General was staring off into space, not paying attention at all. Kim’s fists clenched.  
Beryl said, “Have you made any progress in locating the princess or the Silver Crystal?” She didn’t comment on the offering at all.

Kim’s voice was strained to the point of breaking when he replied, “No, Madame.” 

Beryl’s eyes flashed with intolerance. “You will focus your efforts.” she growled. 

Kim put all his strength into restraining himself. “Yes, Madame.”

Kim stepped through the portal into the basement of OSA-P with Morga in tow. The portal quickly evaporated behind them as he stomped over to a trashcan and kicked it violently. It crashed into the wall, scattering its miscellaneous contents which he then annihilated with tiny fireballs. 

Morga watched his tantrum in silence. When it seemed he had control of himself she asked in her raspy voice, “Master Jaedite, what is our plan for locating the Silver Crystal?”  
It was all Kim could do not to snap at her. He didn’t have one. He had put all of his time and effort into this energy harvesting scheme.

Kim looked around at the comatose women on the floor, having their life energy sapped by the dark crystals around their necks. With his powers of hypnosis, it had been easy to talk them into buying his tainted “silver crystals”. He used hypnotic commands to convince them to put the jewelry on and return to the shop that night. Only two nights and he had already increased his energy production by a hundred times. Once he harvested enough energy from them, he would take the jewel back and use hypnosis again to make sure they went home oblivious to what happened.

“Master Jaedite?” Morga rasped, irritated at being ignored. 

Kim chewed on his thumbnail as he thought. Hypnosis was clearly his strongest power. How could he leverage it to find the Silver Crystal?

“Jaedite?” Morga repeated. He could not help but notice she dropped the honorific. He knew he should reprimand her for that, but he had to tread carefully. If Morga attacked him, she would easily kill him.

“Just a moment, Morga. I’m thinking.” he said, in what he thought was a firm but polite tone. Then he mused aloud, “The princess has the Silver Crystal, right? What we really need to do is to find her…”

Morga offered a suggestion, “Perhaps we can ask Master Nephrite to perform a divination?”

Kim’s thumbnail was already short from his habit, but he nearly bit it off with that. There was no way he was going to go to that weirdo.  
But it gave him an idea. 

“Reopen the shop in the morning, Morga. Continue gathering energy for The Great Ruler. I will return tomorrow evening.” Kim gave his orders and headed up the stairs.  
Behind him, Morga saluted him with her hand over her left breast and said, “Yes, master.” in a subservient tone. However, if Kim had been looking, he would have seen the red flash in her eyes that betrayed her true feelings.

#### Missing Naru

Usagi’s weekend was a nightmare, both asleep and waking. Her night terrors continued to haunt her, and she spent her days swimming through concern and anger over Naru. She must have sent a hundred texts and left fifty voicemails. In fact, she was so distracted by worry that she finished all of her homework, cleaned her room, and put away the laundry all without complaint. 

Her mother was so impressed that she gave Usagi some of her allowance and restored her right to walk home from school -with the caveat that she was to only come straight home. 

Usagi was not as grateful as she should have been. When Monday morning came around, she was up and dressed so early that she left home before even her father. She marched down to the school, all hot to tell her ex-friend how just how angry she was, but Naru wasn’t there. 

As class commenced, Miss Haruna called the roll. She paused on Naru’s name and several students looked toward her desk as no one answered. Naru was almost never absent. Usagi nearly chewed through her pencil with worry.

At lunch time, Usagi went to her usual spot on the garden wall near the fountain. She sat down, realizing that she had forgotten her lunch in her haste to get there early. How ironic, she usually forgot it because she was running late. Then Naru would open up her lunchbox and share. She sighed, worry and hunger gnawing on her stomach.

She felt eyes on her and looked up to meet the bug-eyed gaze of Umino. He was crouched like a pimply toad next to the fountain and looking directly at her. Umino had been in her class since grade school. They had been chummy in middle school, until he developed an embarrassing crush on her and things got awkward. He started following her around, taking odd photos of her and tweeting them with weird little poems. The other students had called him the Usagi Otaku. 

Over the summer between middle and high school, Umino’s obsession with Usagi seemed to wane. Her guess was that he must have found someone else to stalk. But high school came and he was back at it, taking photos wherever she and Naru bumped into him. The only difference was that Naru wasn’t plying her to be nice and date him anymore, for which Usagi was grateful.

Usagi realized with embarrassment that she was also staring, but at Umino’s uneaten lunch. She came to a conflict of morals as she contemplated inviting him over just so she could try to get him to share. 

Umino must have sensed an invitation in her stare, because he hopped to his feet and came over. “Hey, Usagi.” He croaked in his squeaky voice as he sat down next to her. He opened his bento box, revealing a neatly arranged and yummy-looking lunch. He took out a perfectly formed sticky rice ball and shoved it into his mouth. “Where’s Naru?” he asked casually while he chewed. “Is she sick?”

Usagi was mesmerized by delectable looking food in the box and absently answered, “Um, I guess so?” while she tried not to drool.

“Oh.” He answered, now taking a bite out of a miniature hot dog. “Are you going to go see her after school?” he asked with mild interest.

Usagi swallowed and her stomach growled audibly, but Umino’s question gave her pause. Her mother had been clear that she should walk straight home after school, but she had a creeping feeling that something more was going on with Naru than just a cold.

In her silence, Umino said, “I have some Emergen-C packets in my backpack. I think I’ll take some to her after school. Want to come along?”

Usagi’s mouth answered before her brain, because all she could think about was the cucumber sandwich Umino was biting in half. “Uh, yeah. Sure.”

He popped the second half of the sandwich into his mouth and said, “Okay.” The only thing left in the lunchbox was a hot pickled pepper. Usagi couldn’t tear her eyes away from it. 

Umino said, “I’ll text you when I’m out of study hall.” He picked up the pepper, bit it off the stem, and walked away, crunching.

Usagi was left hoping this wasn’t being construed as a date.

#### Monster

After her last class, Usagi waited at the gate for Umino’s text. She had forgotten that his study hall was an eighth hour class. She was going to get home late and be grounded all over again, but this was more important. It was not like Naru to not respond. Not even a text. Something was wrong. 

She was trying to distract herself with her manga while she waited, but it wasn’t helping. Her phone emitted a chime and she checked it, hoping it was Naru. It was Umino, letting her know he was on his way. She sighed and stood, stretching her legs. Looking at her knees, which had been so badly scabbed on Friday, she noted that they were fully healed. She had always been quick to heal. Naru called it her super-power. She hoped Naru was alright. 

Umino appeared and they went walking. Usagi was grateful that it was summer and would not get dark for a while. She was not afraid of Umino, rather she had no doubt that he would be useless if they did get in trouble. 

Usagi reflected on that thought. Why was she so worried about being attacked? She had never worried about it before. It must have been due to the stress from all of the nightmares and lack of sleep. She tried to calm herself, thinking of a story she would tell Naru to cheer her up. 

Umino’s voice broke into her thoughts, “Since when do Naru’s parents deal in crystals?”

Usagi looked at him, then at her surroundings. When did they arrive at OSA-P? “Umm… What?” She responded.

Umino pointed to a sign in one of the large, tinted glass windows that made up the front of the shop. In a bold typeface, it said, “Rare Silver Crystals Now In Stock. Guaranteed to bring wealth, health, and love into your life!”

A shiver ran through Usagi as she looked at the words, “Silver Crystals”. It was a cold chill that carried fear up from her bowels to douse her brain. She suddenly had a strong desire to flee.

“Um, Usagi, are you alright?” Umino asked slowly, “You look like you’re going to puke. Hang on, I have some Pepto in my backpack.”

Usagi ignored Umino for the moment, staring at the silhouettes of the people on the other side of the dark glass. One of them was staring back at her, she was sure. Her breathing became hurried and the color drained from her face as she stood there, eyes locked on something inside the store. 

The tension was shattered with a sharp cracking sound, accompanied by a strong hand on her back. A piquant odor stung her nostrils and made her eyes water. 

“Umino! What the--!” Usagi blurted, staggering back. But his hand was there, holding her up. 

Umino’s voice was calm, though squeaky as ever, “It’s okay Usagi, I have you. You won’t fall.”

“I’m not going to fall, Umino! What did you do?!” she shouted at him.

He answered cheerfully, “You were swooning so I gave you some smelling salts. Feel better?” Umino was always flexing his first aid skills. His parents ran a small pharmaceuticals shop that sold a variety of modern and ancient remedies and he displayed an abundance of enthusiasm in dispensing them. 

Usagi did not feel better but what she said was, “Come on, Umino. Let’s check on Naru.” as she skirted the front of the store to the side door that led to the apartments above. Her shaking finger hesitated a moment before pressing the button for number 201. 

They waited.

Nothing happened. 

Usagi swallowed back the lump forming in her throat and pressed the button again. After another weighty pause, Umino said, “Maybe she can’t make it to the door?”

Usagi really didn’t like that idea, nor the next thing he said which was, “Let’s go into the shop and talk to her mom.” 

She allowed herself be led back to the sliding door. She felt like she was stepping into a movie where the audience knew something she did not and they were holding their breath to see what would happen.

The door slid open. Usagi’s blood froze. Everything went into slow motion. She watched Umino walk forward into the shop and approach the counter. She heard him say, “Good afternoon Mrs. Osaka. We came to see Naru. Will you buzz us up?”

It had to be a dream. It had to be. That was the only explanation for what she was seeing. 

Umino was talking to a monster.

It was hideous. Thin gray skin stretch over jutting bones and bare teeth. Its hollow black eyes fell on Usagi and her insides burst aflame. Suddenly, all of the ice in her veins turned to steam. In that moment, her primal impetus compelled her to act. To face the fact that there was a monster, all too real, and she needed to do something.  
Usagi ran away.

#### Luna

Luna trotted down the sidewalk with a brisk pace and her head hung low in thought. Her meeting with the Leader had not gone as she expected. When she told him that she had located a candidate Guardian, she expected him to be happy. 

“She passed the first level of the training simulator with ease.” she had reported via her communication device. “She has energy and charisma. I think with adequate guidance she would progress quickly.”

“Luna,” he responded, “How are you progressing in your own training?” his tone was gentle, but the question was quite pointed. There was no mistaking the subtle reminder of her recent mistake. One which was still too painful for them to speak directly of.

She paused in the shade of a fire hydrant to cool her paws, which were stinging from the hot concrete. She drew in a deep breath, and let it out as a frustrated sigh. The air in the city was stifling and foul. She spared a moment to miss her forest home. So clean and cool and sweet. It chafed her that he remained there and sent her to this place to search for Guardians and train them, when she was not even fully trained herself. 

No. She drew back her wayward feelings and chided herself. The portents all strongly indicated that the princess would be born in the city of Tokyo this time. Someone had to be there to gather her Guardians and search for her. It was Luna’s duty and honor to do so. He had to remain at home to guard the sanctum. That was his duty.  
He often said: We all walk the same path, but each with our own feet. 

Staring down at her paws, Luna wrestled with her feelings. She constantly felt like she was being pushed forward. Pushed to complete her training. Pushed to locate Guardians and the princess and the Silver Crystal. It was frustrating and it was terrifying. She had so little time. The life of a cat is so short… 

Luna’s pondering was interrupted by her combat-trained senses. Someone or something with a powerful aura was coming her way fast. By reflex, she assumed a defensive crouch and her fur fluffed out all over. 

That last part was a little humiliating.

#### Moonlight

Usagi’s feet were already hurting from pounding the sidewalk. Her little slip-on shoes were not made for running, but she wouldn’t stop until something snapped her out of her panic.

She making quite a racket, between the loud slapping of her footfalls and her sobbing, and everyone was making way. She was all the way back to the parkway when something actually scooted out in front of her. Something small and black. 

There was a loud yowl as her foot hit it squarely. This was enough to startle Usagi and she let out a cry herself as she tumbled over, landing on the curb of the parkway where the cars were roaring by. Only then did she realize how close she came to running right out into the busy street. She sat there for a few breaths, then shuddered and looked away. 

Usagi took took stock of her situation. Her knees and hands were scraped and bleeding, but what had she stepped on? She looked and saw a small black cat at her feet. It was laying on its side and breathing shallowly.

Hesitantly, she reached out to the cat and placed her hand on its side. “Kitty?” she said with a broken voice. The cat didn’t react.

Terror temporarily forgotten, she squeezed her eyes shut, forcing tears down her cheeks. “Please don’t die…” she plead. It was unbearable to think that she had killed the poor thing. Her whole body felt clenched like a fist. She desperately wished she could do something, searching within herself, willing to give whatever she found there.

Luna was in a dark and unfamiliar place. How had she come to be there? The last she could recall was rushing forward to keep that girl from running out into the street.  
There was nothing but darkness around as far as she could tell. Luna tried to look around but she couldn’t feel her body. She started to panic a little. What was happening?  
Suddenly, there was a light. Before her was the moon. A vision came to her, so much more vivid than a memory, of a gentle face framed with flowing silver hair. The crescent on her forehead glowed with a warm light. Her pale blue eyes opened and her lips formed a smile. 

_Princess?_

Suddenly, bright white light came pouring in. She squinted against it and allowed the world slowly fade into view. When it did, the first thing she saw was was a face of a young woman. Her eyes were closed and her cheeks were tear-stained. Her golden hair was the mess of a bun-come-loose, a jeweled pin barely hanging in there.

_Princess…?_

“Princess?” the girl echoed as her own eyes opened.

Luna’s mind went silent for a horrified moment. Had the girl heard her?!

#### Standoff 

Usagi didn’t know where the word came from, but she heard it as clearly as if it was spoken. Princess.

Her thoughts were cut short by an unfamiliar voice. An extended hand entered her field of view as the voice said, “Are you alright, miss? Let me help you up.”

Usagi lifted her eyes and saw a young man standing there. He had sandy blonde hair and wore a high school uniform. His smile was friendly enough, but was not reflected in his hard brown eyes. 

She didn’t want to take his hand. He was slight, but somehow frightening. Usagi couldn’t quite put a finger on why. 

She looked to the side and saw people staring. What were they staring at? She felt confused and out of place. Her eyes went back to the proffered hand. 

_He has a dark aura, I don’t like it._ A small voice said. It was nearly drowned out by the sound of the cat growling. Usagi didn’t know who the voice belonged to or what they meant by “dark aura,” but she was in agreement. She didn’t want to have anything to do with this stranger. 

He knelt in front of her, staring into her eyes. His eyes were narrowed, brow furrowed as if with concentration. As Usagi stared back, he started to look familiar, but it was not a good feeling. Instead, it gave her chills. 

“Take my hand.” He said in a low voice. 

Usagi’s throat tightened. She felt absolutely no desire to comply.

“Take. My. Hand.” He repeated, forcefully.

Usagi began to shake. She felt a strong sense of threat emanating from him. She wanted to run away, but the crowd around them was still standing there, staring, like a wall of statues.

The cat arched and hissed. 

A familiar deep voice said, “Hey. Is he bothering you, Bun-head?”

Bun-head?? She turned her head to look and, sure enough, it was Motoki’s jerk friend in his prep-school uniform. 

If Usagi was a cat, she would have fuzzed-up and hissed herself. She sputtered, “Bun-Whaddyou care mister… white..coat?!” 

“Mister white-coat?” her words echoed in three voices. 

Usagi’s chin sank to her chest as she flushed with embarrassment. 

“Mind your own business.” The Stranger growled, though it lacked some force. 

The Jerk’s eyes narrowed. He was tall, not muscular, but he was somehow very intimidating. Maybe it was how terribly cold his glare was. Like there was no knowing what he was capable of. 

He didn’t say anything. He just stood there, glaring. 

They each held their positions, eyes locked in a virtual grapple. 

The little voice spoke up again, _This is bad. Usagi, get out of there…_

Once again in concordance with the unknown voice, Usagi took the opportunity to withdraw. She stood and looked for a way to escape the scene.

The stranger’s eyes flicked her way, then back to the Jerk. His jaw clenched a few times before he said, “Don’t think this is over…” He stood then, and walked slowly away, stopping only once to glare over his shoulder at the Jerk. 

The human wall parted for him, then closed in again. Usagi watched this with confusion. What was making them act so strangely? Even as she wondered, the crowd started to break up. Men and women with puzzled expressions wandered off mumbling things like, “What was I doing?”

Usagi looked to the one person who was not walking away. 

The Jerk looked back, and his eyes didn’t seem quite so cold. As they met hers, she felt that warm tickle of familiarity. Then his eyes slid away and he said, “Take better care of yourself, Bun-Head.” It was said with a dismissive tilt of his head, but to Usagi it rang with a note of genuine concern. 

He turned to walk up the street, away from the parkway and Usagi watched him go, wrapped in confused emotions.

The quiet voice said, _Don’t trust him too much. He has a powerful dark aura._

Usagi looked down at the cat, who was looking up at her. She was a pretty little black cat, with an odd white crescent on her forehead. It was odd because it was so perfectly formed and centered above her face.

Did that quiet voice… belong to the cat?

Usagi quickly tried to dismiss such a ridiculous thought, but staring into the cat’s large intelligent eyes she couldn't fully dispel her own doubts. 

_You can hear me, can’t you?_

There was no denying it that time. The subtle shifting of the cat’s expression was perfectly timed to the words. The cat was talking. 

Faced with this manifestation of the impossible, Usagi’s whole self froze all over again. Her mind churned beneath the ice, repeatedly coming to and rejecting that conclusion. As she struggled, tears began to well up again in her eyes. 

It was all just too much. She couldn't take any more. 

Once again, Usagi took flight.


	4. Chapter 4

### Chapter 3

#### Black

Mamoru was walking up the street toward home, but he was in serious danger of wandering right on by. He had slept only a few scattered hours since the night he woke in a pool of rose petals. His mind was still boggled over it. How had they come to be there? Did someone creep in while he slept or, more frightening yet, was it something supernatural? 

Mamoru was not sure which he wished for, but the petals were not the real source of his disturbance.

It was that voice. 

“Do you want to live?” Just recalling it gave him shivers. 

It was no ordinary nightmare, but what did it mean? Mamoru did not know, but he felt like he soon would.

Mamoru was becoming plagued by concerns. Aside from all that, there was the bun-headed girl. He wasn’t at all sure why, but he felt deeply concerned for her well-being. He knew her name, Motoki had told it to him, but he was purposely not using it. It was a conscious attempt to distance himself from the cloying feelings of familiarity he had for her. 

So preoccupied, Mamoru shuffled sluggishly along, until something from the corner of his eye caught his attention and stopped him cold. 

"Rare Silver Crystals Now In Stock."

Silver Crystals.

Under the strain of silver crystals and nightmares and sleepless nights and scary voices, Mamoru’s mind snapped a little. 

Of course a jewelry store. Why not? Too simple. But, why not? He thought he knew of every gem and mineral on the earth, but maybe… maybe not. Maybe this was something new. 

_Yes._

Mamoru was suddenly wide awake. Everything that happened over the past four days flashed through his mind but how much of it was real, he did not know. He remembered dark shapes lurking in shadows everywhere he went. Following him. Watching him. Whispering.

J _ust go in. Ask about the Silver Crystal. Get this over with._

Mamoru approached the automatic door and it slid open with a mechanical hiss. All of his senses were heightened and moving at the speed of his pounding heart. 

The first thing his eyes fell on was some kind of monster with a flashy red dress stretched taught over its bony protrusions. In his disturbed state of mind, he was not frightened nor even surprised. Instead, Mamoru felt sorry for the creature. It was sweating with effort and discomfort just standing there. It looked at him, a feigned smile stretching its already thin lips wider over its oversized teeth. 

“Can I help you?” it rasped. 

He answered without thought, “I’m here for the Silver Crystal.” he said. Even as he did, he felt that it rang true somehow. It was more than an inquiry, it was a declaration of his destiny. 

“We’re out.” came a voice from his left. Mamoru shifted slightly to see who was speaking, and was puzzled by who he saw. 

_It’s that creepy guy who was bothering Bun-head._

Mamoru frowned. “Out…” he echoed, conveying though his tone that he did not believe it. 

“Yes. We just ran out.” the guy said firmly, like he was speaking to a dog. “Now, you have to leave, you’re going to be late for supper.” 

_What the hell is that all about?_

Mamoru gave it some thought. “Out…” he said, slowly. “Okay. I’ll just… come back later.”

He turned and walked out slowly, taking time to look around. Outside, he turned to walk purposefully toward home. 

He needed something black to wear. 

\---

As they watched the stranger go, Morga put to words what they both were thinking. 

“What a strange creature.” 

Kim thought it was a bit hypocritical, as his thumbnail went before his teeth, but she was not wrong. There was something strange about that guy and his behavior. 

Kim was certain that the stranger had seen Morga for what she was. Moreover, his hypnosis had no apparent effect. Yet, he was no member of the Dark Kingdom. Just who was that strange man? 

Who, or what? Perhaps it was not a man at all, but a monster in human guise. That was a much more reasonable explanation. But who did it serve? Kim needed answers, and he knew just who to ask. 

“Morga,” he said in his giving-orders voice, “Continue to gather energy for the Dark Ruler. After the shop closes for today, remain here and stand guard in case he comes back.” Kim was sure he would do exactly that. 

Morga saluted, saying, “It will be done, my master.”

“Good.” With that, Kim took up his schoolbag and walked out the front door.

#### Balm

The line leading to Balm’s House of Fortune was growing longer by the day. A successful business, it seemed. 

Kim waited as patiently as he could. Living in such a densely populated city as Tokyo, one would think him used to waiting in lines. But standing there amid that clot of human bodies was nearly as bad as enduring one of Mistress Beryl’s “purifications”. That being the most polite way of saying, “electrocuting him with enough purple lightning to boil the blood”. He had a lot of experience with this. 

_Balm’s reading had better be worth it this time._

His hands twitched at his sides, fingers squirming with repressed urges. In lieu of setting things on fire, Kim bit his nails when under stress. Lately his nails were chewed to the point of bleeding and his mother had swaddled them each in Band-aids, which were themselves long chewed off. It had been a rough day, even for a Monday, which promised bad things for the rest of the week.

As the queue slithered forward, Kim reflected on the day. It started out normal enough. He’d gotten himself out of bed and dressed, went downstairs to the kitchen and made some breakfast, packed his lunch, and bid goodbye to his mother.

Things had taken a turn for the worse when he arrived at school, only to be abducted by one of Kai’s minions. Kaito acted like he was doing Kim a favor, making sure he didn’t miss another one of Mistress Beryl’s unplanned meetings. She had no concept of her servants’ lives outside of her cave and had tortured Kim for a solid minute just for being late. Kaito just stood there while it happened. They all did. Silent while his screams echoed in the dark vaults of the cave. 

Kim clenched his hands into fists. His swollen digits throbbed, burning like the anger and anguish inside his chest. How he wanted to lash out. If he didn’t find some kind of release soon, he would cry.

_Not in public. No._

Clenching his teeth and drawing deep breaths, he struggled to gather some small control over his own emotions. As the mental fog thinned, he became aware of how restless and agitated the people in the line had become. Amid a murmur of disorder, a girl in front of him was crying for no obvious reason, and some boys ahead of her were starting to push and shove each other. Another random woman yelled, “What’s your problem?!” but it was unclear who she directed it at. 

Kim drew a deep breath and let it out as a resigned sigh. If they didn’t calm down soon, he would have to step in. He couldn’t have a scuffle between mortals making him miss this meeting. He watched as the boys dusted each other off and apologized to the woman. The girl slowly sobbed to a halt as well. In general, the crowd seemed calmer and started moving forward again. 

_Good, I don’t have to interfere._

When Kim reached the front of the line and got a good look at House of Fortune, he couldn't help a snort of amusement. The shop front had been transformed into a gaudy and culturally confused temple facade. In shades of glittery pink and gold, it was proclaimed to be “Home to Ren the Prophet”. Balm had clearly put his suggestions to good use, though “prophet” was a bit strong. 

_Hopefully, she’s feeling grateful._

A cheerful and busty young woman was stationed outside the door, granting access to the shop one party at a time. She had a cute, heart-shaped face with bobbed pink hair framing it. Kim might have confused her for human if not for her aura and the odor she gave off. Sickly-sweet like rotting fruit. He wondered if the mortals around her could smell it too.

The door opened and the girl who had been crying came out, clutching a colorful braided charm and looking much more sure of herself. She gave Kim a glance and a mysterious smirk as she passed. It was puzzling enough that he turned to watch as she went, which his how he noticed that the charm she carried was sapping her life energy. 

Kim frowned at this. Letting them leave with such an item would put them in danger of having too much of their energy drained. He knew that concern for humans was beyond a monster like Balm, but she should at least be taking measures not to get caught. 

“Are you ready? It’s your turn.” Kim turned back around and met eyes with the bouncy doorkeeper. Despite her cheerful tone, she was looking significantly less friendly and Kim felt put in place. Clearly, he hadn’t earned much respect, despite having provided them means to a much more successful energy harvest. 

He gave her a curt nod, and she lifted the red rope that otherwise blocked the entrance into the shop. 

Inside the House of Fortune at last, Kim pushed his way through three curtains of beads to get to the room where Balm waited. He could smell her coming. Since Morga’s construction was soil, she smelled dusty, and a bit stale. Balm was made of wood and she smelled like rot. The multiple braziers of incense in the room could only do so much to disguise that. 

Her visual disguise was impressive, none the less. She took the form of a petite and beautiful Japanese woman with a doll-like face framed by long black hair. She was comfortable in this form, unlike Morga who struggled to maintain hers. 

“Jaedite.” he was greeted as he came in. “Welcome to the home of Rin the Prophet.” she said, gesturing proudly around the small room. It was festooned with colorful tasseled drapes and more strings of beads. “How can I serve you?” she concluded, though there was a note of mockery in her tone. 

Kim pushed back his irritation and put on his most authoritative demeanor. “Balm, I need information on a creature that was in my shop earlier.” he said. 

She giggled and put her long-nailed fingers on the glass ball in front of her. “Master Jaedite has come for more prophesy? What a pleasure. But, I thought you were not so happy with my last divination…”  
Kim snorted, “That was not a divination, that was mockery.” he huffed. 

Balm’s eyes lit up red and she let out a low growl. Kim was surprised and frightened by her reaction. 

“Master Jaedite would do well to listen to his prophet, and not insult her…” she intoned.

Kim stopped himself from snapping back because he heard some very important words there. 

_My prophet?_

He cleared his throat, hiding his mouth behind his hand until he could wipe the smirk off of it. 

“I am sorry, Balm. It is wrong to discount your visions. I should have more faith in my servants’ abilities.” He said, gauging her response. To his elation, she seemed pleased. 

“Yes you should.” She said mysteriously. “Because in their power lies yours…” Kim wasn’t sure if that was prophesy or just advice. 

“Yes, well,” Kim directed her back to his purpose for visiting, “What about that creature that was in my shop today? Who does it serve?”

“Hmm…” she mused, looking him over probingly and leaving him feeling quite exposed. “Let us see then. Yes, let us see.” She muttered as she took to stroking the glass orb. It was just for show, the orb was a useless hunk of glass she used to entertain mortals. 

Once again feeling like he was being mocked a little, Kim waited. 

“Yesss. Yes, I see him. What a handsome creature.” she continued to mumble. “But what is his true nature, hmm? Let us see…” 

Kim sighed with impatience. 

Suddenly, Balm let out a strangled scream and her disguise faltered for a moment, exposing her dank moss hair and rutted bark-like skin. 

Kim stumbled back, startled but at the same time not completely sure this was not more mockery. He stared at her, waiting for her to tell him what she saw. 

She stared back for several seconds before saying, “A terrible dark aura that man has. A servant of darkness for sure.” 

Kim swallowed his ire and said, “A servant of darkness, sure. But who’s servant?” 

“Darkness.” was her only reply.

“Darkness?” He repeated, puzzled and frustrated.

“Darkness.” she said again, then made a shoo-ing motion and said “Go away. You are bad for business. Go.” 

Kim walked out slowly, looking back a couple of times only to get shooed again. 

Darkness??

#### Dinner

Ikuko hacked angrily at the hotdogs on her cutting board. No sooner had she allowed Usagi a little bit of slack than the girl went and wandered off again. Impossible! Ikuko was frustrated to the point of tears, but couldn't allow them to show. She took it out on the carrots next, after dumping the mangled hotdogs into the bubbling pot of tomato sauce. 

“Hey mom, what’s cookin’? Sure smells good!” Shingo’s cheerful voice caused her to jump and to narrowly avoid chopping her finger along with the carrots. He leaned around her, trying to get a peek at the stovetop and she realized how close he was to surpassing herself in height. Soon he would tower over her like his father. 

Ikuko hesitated, not sure how to answer. She had no recipe to follow, and no name for the results. She only hoped it would be edible. 

Her son reached around her, snagging a morsel from the cutting board. “Aw, carrots? I was hoping for hotdogs.” he said, tossing the chunk of orange vegetable into his mouth nevertheless. 

“They’re already in the pot.” Ikuko replied, as she dumped the carrots in. 

“Oh Sweet!” he exclaimed, leaning around the other side and reaching toward the pot. 

She batted his hand away. “That’s not done yet! Have you seen your sister?” She redirected, her frustration showing a bit in her tone. 

Shingo stepped back, shoving his hands into his pockets and putting on a pout. “Yeah,” he sighed, “She came running in a minute ago. She’s in her room. Want me to go get her?” 

“No.” she replied, the edge still in her voice. “I’ll go talk to her. Will you keep an eye on this?” she said, handing him a wooden spoon and walking out of the kitchen. Her footsteps were a bit heavy, despite how she tried not to stomp. 

Shingo took the spoon, turned to the pot, and grinned. 

\---

Upstairs, Usagi was rolled up in her bedspread, trying to be small. She had gone to the safest place she knew to go, but it wasn’t enough. Nothing ever would be. There were monsters in the world now. Not spiders or bullies or muggers, but real monsters. 

The knocking on her bedroom door made her squeak out a tiny scream. It was her mother who, after trying the knob, was yelling “Usagi! Open this door right now!”

“I can’t…” Usagi sobbed back.

“What did you say?! Open this door, Usagi or… so help me you’ll never leave this room again!”

Nothing her mother could say would frighten her more than she already was. 

“Fine…” she replied quietly.

“What?” her mother said, loudly but no longer yelling.

“I said FINE!” Usagi screamed.

The silence told her that Ikuko had left.

#### Usagi’s Awakening

Luna sat, caught between her reason and her emotions. She had followed Usagi back to her home and watched her breakdown from the tree outside the window. She knew what she should do, but she no longer wanted to. Her mind kept flashing back to the last time she did it and the trauma that followed. 

Usagi was a Guardian, for sure, but she was also a frightened little girl. She wasn’t ready. She never would be.

Luna had made her decision. She would seal Usagi’s powers, instead of awakening them. She would have to come in close contact with her again, but sealing her would fog her memories. If She did it now, the girl would hopefully think it was all a bad dream. 

Determined, Luna hopped from the tree to the window sill. Was the window locked? She prodded it gently with her paw and it gave. Not locked, not even latched. She wished there were a way she could latch it behind herself when she left. 

Slowly, Luna pushed the window open enough for her slender feline frame to slide in. She arrived on the inner sill and met a new barrier. Usagi was completely wrapped in her blanket. 

Luna wasn’t sure about sealing powers, but for awakening them, she needed to make eye contact. 

_Usagi._ She said an a gentle tone. _I want to thank you for saving my life. Please don’t be afraid._

She waited for several seconds with no response. Was the girl asleep?

Hesitantly, the blanket shifted and a tiny opening appeared. The face peeking out was so frightened, it was heartbreaking. 

“…Go away.” was the whispered response.

Luna tried to hide how much that stung. _Don’t worry, Usagi,_ she said. _You don’t have to be afraid any more. I’m here to help you._

“…Help with what?” 

Luna had to think about what to say to that question. She didn’t want to lie, but she also didn’t want to frighten the girl any more. _With the visions,_ she said at last. 

Usagi emerged from the blanket, her golden hair tousled, eyes red and puffy. Her expression was still a little confused and quite suspicious. 

“They aren’t real?” she asked, in a tone of mistrust. 

Luna hesitated for too long.

“They are real. How can you help me?” there was desperation in her voice. 

_I can make it so you don’t see them any more. You won’t even know they are there,_ Luna replied in a reassuring tone. 

“I won’t see them? But, they’ll still be there? How does that help!?” the desperation was becoming hysteria. 

_It’s okay, Usagi. We will be there to protect you,_ Luna soothed.

“Cats!?” Usagi exclaimed. 

_I’m not just a cat, Usagi. I am a Guardian. There are others like me out there who fight the monsters and keep the people safe._

“What about Naru?” Usagi replied, desperately. “Did you protect her? Why can’t I get ahold of her?”

_I… don’t know,_ was Luna’s hesitant response. She didn’t know who Usagi was talking about.

“You don’t know!? How could you not know!? What happened to fighting off the monsters!?” Usagi tearfully screamed. Luna wondered how the other occupants of the house were not hearing her. 

She also didn’t know what to do. Usagi’s emotions were erratic and it was frightening her. She kept flashing back to the other one she tried to awaken until she wanted to cry herself. 

“Oh my God…” Usagi moaned. “I have to know. I have to find out if Naru’s okay.” Usagi went from rocking herself on the bed to flipping off the comforter and pacing about the room. 

She stripped off her uniform as she went, muttering out her plan. “Gotta get some pants on. Find my pepper spray. Can’t go out the front, Mom will stop me. Gonna have to go out the window…” 

Usagi, now wearing a pair of pink leggings and a blue t-shirt with the zodiac on it, turned to regard the window. She had no shoes, let alone weapons. Luna had never seen anyone try pepper spray on a youma, but she had serious doubts that it would be all that effective.

Luna stood, as tall as she could in the window sill, as if to block passage and said, _Usagi, listen to me! You can’t just fight a monster. They are supernaturally strong and have dark powers. You need to have powers of your own to defeat them._

Usagi looked Luna straight in the eyes and said, “Okay, where do I get them?”

\---

Usagi waited, expectantly staring at the cat in the window. If there were going to be talking cats and monsters in her world, there would have to be heroes too. Like Sailor V. She dealt with criminals, but she was brave and strong and Usagi wanted to be like that.

She was done with being helpless and afraid. 

“Well?” she prompted the cat. A tiny part of her still doubted this was real. She was completely sure she was awake, so she might be having hallucinations. Probably from starvation. She hadn’t been eating enough lately. She tried to push that thought out of her mind and out of her stomach. 

“Well??” 

The cat lowered her head, looking defeated. _Okay,_ she said in her tiny voice. _I’ll awaken you to them and teach you what to do._

“Okay,” Usagi said, “Let’s hurry though, Naru’s in danger.”

The cat stared at her for a second, and Usagi knew what it was thinking. She was actively avoiding thinking it herself. 

_It might be too late._

“Let’s go!” Usagi urged. 

_Alright Usagi, focus your attention on the moon on my forehead. Really focus, and search within yourself for the power lying dormant there._

Usagi felt doubtful. If that was all it took, she would have had powers long ago. After all of the sleepless nights spent staring at the comforting face of the moon trying to banish her nightmares. Still, she fixed her eyes on the thin crescent and stared. 

Quickly, Usagi felt herself relax. The sliver of white on the cat’s head became the waning moon, floating in the night sky. As Usagi watched, it faded to black. Before she could contemplate the meaning of that, it was back, blooming full and bright. 

Suddenly, she was in her dream palace, only it was as real as if she was actually there. She felt terror, knowing that the evil was looking for her in there, but she swallowed it down. There would be no running this time. Her fear dissolved into resolution. 

A brightly shining figure appeared before her, arms extended forward. In its hand was a golden disk, about the size of a makeup compact. Usagi tried to look at the figure’s face, but it was too bright. A feminine voice said, "Take this, it will protect you." 

Usagi felt another stab from that tiny needle of doubt, but reached out and took the object. She felt its weight in her hand and the doubt faded again. This was really happening. 

"Be careful, my sweet Lady Soldier…"

The light faded, and Usagi was back in her bedroom. The cat was watching her strangely, as if she was afraid of something. 

Usagi gave a firm nod of confidence. “Okay,” she said, extending the golden object, “how do I use it?”

The cat stared at it like she had no idea what she was looking at, so Usagi took the moment to examine it herself. It was heavy, looked like a compact, but didn’t have any obvious way of opening. It was engraved with a simple crescent moon which had a tiny white gem between its points. 

Usagi turned it over in her hand, looking a the back. It had a pin there, so it was meant to be worn, like a brooch. 

Working with that theory, she attached it to the front of her shirt. The shirt sagged beneath its weight. She looked at the cat and said, “Okay, now what?”

The cat still looked completely baffled but said, _Raise your right hand and say, ‘I am a Guardian and, in the name of the moon, I will face evil without fear.’_

Usagi felt a little silly, but awkwardly complied. Nothing noticeable happened. 

The cat said, _Feel it, Usagi. It’s a vow, say it and mean it._

Usagi, bearing down on her newfound courage, threw her hand into the air and shouted, “I am a Guardian and I fight without fear! I am Sailor Moon!”

The cat started to say something, but never finished as there was a thunderous pealing of bells and a blinding flash of light. Usagi felt weightless and euphoric. For a moment, she saw herself as she was. Then she thought, ‘If I’m going to fight like Sailor V, I need a disguise like hers.’ With that decision made, her appearance was transformed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my most recently completed chapter. I'm working hard on Chapter 4, but I'm not sure how soon I will be able to post it. I'm still finding my stride.


End file.
